Assembly members propose $75,000 contract to study civilian oversight of Anchorage police

Nov. 14—Three Assembly members have proposed a contract with a national nonprofit that could help lay the groundwork for establishing independent civilian oversight of Anchorage police.

The $75,000 sole-source contract proposal from Assembly members Felix Rivera, Anna Brawley and Daniel Volland would be an addition to Mayor Suzanne LaFrance's proposed city budget for 2025. It's one of more than a dozen budget amendments the Assembly is slated to consider when it votes on the budget during its upcoming Tuesday meeting.

The police department has faced mounting scrutiny after a series of police shootings this year. Officers have shot eight people since May, killing five and wounding three. Community members, advocates and some Assembly members have called for oversight and reform in the wake of the shootings.

The Assembly members are pursuing a contract with the National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, or NACOLE, "to engage in the exploration of independent oversight of APD," according to the proposed budget amendment.

If approved, work done under the contract could eventually serve as the basis for some type of oversight entity in Anchorage — but it's far from certain what scope and power such a board might have.

Police Chief Sean Case has already indicated opposition to an independent oversight board, and some police officers are also now pushing back on the idea, saying more oversight could hurt morale in the understaffed department.

In statements and at public meetings over the last several months, Case has said he is dedicated to improving trust and the relationship between the police and the public, but has been hesitant about a civilian review board, saying it could hurt morale. He's cautioned the Assembly against installing one too quickly.

The mayor's office and police department did not answer questions this week about the Assembly members' proposal.

'Increased transparency and accountability'

The proposal is a direct response to calls from the community in public testimony heard during recent meetings on the budget, Volland said.

"I think there are a lot of folks in our community who want to see increased transparency and accountability regarding policing, and also best practices," he said. "I think some of that frustration is in response to the recent police shootings that we've seen, and also the very slow, frustrating rollout of body-worn cameras."

According to a 2021 report from NACOLE, at least 166 cities and counties in the U.S. had implemented a form of civilian oversight, whether through a review board, inspectors general and independent auditors or monitors. The number of oversight entities rapidly increased over the last decade, but still represent a fraction of the roughly 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the country.

The nonprofit has conducted national and case studies on civilian oversight in the U.S. and has worked with many communities to help them form oversight entities.

Volland said the proposed assistance from the group would "officially start the conversation" — the beginning of a long process that, if approved, would ultimately require changes to city code to create an oversight entity.

The contract is not a proposal to institute a specific type of review or oversight board, he said, but rather would "help us create potential models for what civilian oversight might look like in Anchorage and how police practices can be better informed by the public."

Broadly, civilian oversight is the ongoing review of a law enforcement agency and its operations, which is conducted by individuals outside of the agency, according to NACOLE, which describes several different models.

Review-focused models allow citizens to review the quality of internal investigations done by the police department. Many take complaints or hear appeals, and many can recommend investigations, case dispositions, discipline, and revisions to policies. Investigation-focused models use professionally trained staff to independently investigate complaints and allegations of misconduct. Auditor or monitor models focus more on policy and trend analysis to root out systemic issues and usually can make recommendations on any aspect of law enforcement.

Brawley said the association's approach is to help a community define what it wants, and is "not walking in with one model or result."

Shootings prompt promises of reform

After the fatal police shooting of 16-year-old Easter Leafa in August, Case and LaFrance announced a series of reforms. Those include the formation of a community advisory committee, an ongoing third-party review into the police department's policies and how it can reduce shootings, and a review by the department of the past 15 years of officer shootings.

The mayor's office has said the committee will "provide the community a formal role in advising APD."

The city has had various versions of public safety advisory boards for years, including the former public safety advisory commission.

Prior to the pandemic, the Anchorage Community Police Relations Task Force also met monthly to review complaints and community concerns. The group was first formed in the 1980s after a fatal police shooting. Former member Nelson Godoy is attempting to revive it and recruiting board members. The group met last week. Just over a dozen people attended. Case, who was scheduled to appear, did not show up.

It isn't clear how much authority the task force will have. The mayor's office did not answer questions about the task force or the advisory committee.

Rich Curtner, chair of the Alaska Black Caucus Justice Committee, said the task force doesn't go far enough. He wants to see an oversight board with more structure and the ability to conduct independent investigations into complaints against police.

During public testimony last week, Celeste Hodge Growden, the group's president, urged Assembly members to fund a contract with NACOLE.

"The number of officer involved shootings in our community has reached an alarming rate," she said.

In recent emails to Assembly members, however, some police department staff have expressed concerns.

Several said an independent civilian board could harm hiring efforts and staff retention in a department struggling to fill vacancies, especially at a time when the department is already under increased scrutiny and implementing other accountability measures.

Police department union president Darrell Evans declined to comment for this story until he could learn more about the intent of the Assembly members' proposal.

Volland said the city's police force is critical to public safety and that the Assembly broadly wants to support the department and see it fully staffed.

"This is certainly not an effort to hamstring the police or to to undercut them in any way," he said.